Ride as in flight?
Oh man. Not sure I could have returned after that.The one when the WinAir pilot got out and kissed the ground when we landed in SBH. True story.
Haven't had any bad ones. Long bumpy ones on the Rapid Express, but I always knew it was worth it.
In my opinion the worst ride is one that I never took. There used to be a number of sail catamarans that took daytrippers from SXM to SBH. They would leave out of Phillipsburg, and free beer and rum punch would be included in the price of the trip. As many know, the trip from SXM to SBH can be a bit "lumpy" at times, as the boat is often headed into the prevailing seas. Combine the free booze, "lumpy", landlubbers, some of whom were on their 2nd or 3rd drink of the morning before they had cleared Great Bay, and you have a recipe for potentially nasty "mal de mer". Back in the day I saw more than one person all but crawl off of the cats, swear never to go to sea again, and buy a ticket to fly back to SXM.
Me, on my first trip I rode on a power cat on a daytrip. I've never willingly spent a night on SXM since, and I've flown in every time since.
Oh man. Not sure I could have returned after that.
The worst was probably our first and that was because the passenger behind my wife kept praying for the 12 minutes.
Even though the flight was fine, it completely freaked my wife out.
She thought the other person must know something.
Dad, friendly with one of the "Red Caps", asked what the options were to get to SBH that night. "Cap" advised that a friend of his was leaving SMX for SBH that night on his island hopping freighter. "Fine" says Dad. Pile into a rust bucket of a truck with all the gear. Delivered to the docks. Cash speaks! Aboard we get. This freighter has minimal freeboard. It has no fresh paint. It is loaded to the gunnels with all sorts of product. Mom is NOT happy. I think it is all pretty cool. Dad found a sack of rice or something to sit on while pulling from a bottle of local libation.
C.